The janitor's closet reeked of ammonia and other unsavory odors that Jet chose not to think about. He wanted to get what he needed and then get the hell out of there.

What is it we are looking for again?

Simply put, we are looking for paint thinner. There's in ingredient in there called "Methyl alcohol", and, what it basically does is cause a plethora of unpleasant symptoms in the "host".

Host? You make him sound almost like a parasite…

"Reason's" laughter echoed through Jet's clouded head as he spied a small canister of paint thinner. He picked it up and looked at it with a bizarre sense of wonder.

"Rold's Paint Thinner is GUARNTEED to Dissolve All of Those Nasty Stains!" declared the words beneath a fuzzy, bearded man’s visage.

"Well, Rold, ole' buddy, your product damn well better work on my 'Nasty Stain'." Simpered Jet, sticking the small canister into his pocket with a lopsided grin.

Why am I thinking like this? It must be the paint or something.

Jet listened very closely to make sure no one was coming, and, much to his relief, all was silent.

Good, it's all clear. Is there anything else we need from this disgusting place? If not, I want to leave.

There is nothing else of interest here. Our next stop will be the liquor store.

What?! I'm not going to buy that fool…

Shut up and listen. It will work out in the end, reason always does.

Reason… thought Jet as he wandered down the hallway with a blank expression on his face.

(-~~~~~~)

Gallows yawned and pressed his back against the headboard as he stretched, he was tired but also annoyed. Being interrupted in mid thought tended to do that to him.

Especially when it's Jet making an ass of himself…

Gallows cut his stretch off short and looked down at his hand. The punch to Jet's face did not even register on his battle scarred hand. Gallows dropped his hand to the side of his body and leaned his head back against the headboard, shutting his eyes and expelling an uncertain sigh.

I don't feel right for doing something so rash. But, at the same time, I don't feel wrong about it either. Why? Why do I always have such conflicting emotions?

He raised his hand from its perch, set it in front of his face, and opened his eyes to examine it up close, turning it from palm to back, back to palm, in a steady, fascinated pace.

I feel bad; I shouldn't have hit him… But, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time…

He dropped his hand down hard on his thigh and cringed inwardly.

I underestimate my size at times.

"I'm going to apologize to him." Decided Gallows out loud, pulling on a ratty night shirt and walking slowly to the door, the alcohol starting to have an effect on him.

"Gagh." Moaned Gallows, leaning against the door just as someone tapped lightly against it. Gallows rested his head against the cool wood and closed his eyes again.

I should not have drunk that last beer.

"Yes?" He asked in the most pleasant voice he could muster.

"Gallows, it's me, can I come in?" inquired Virginia’s muffled voice from the other side of the door. THAT snapped Gallows out of his buzzed stupor and his hand quickly flew to the door knob.

Virginia!

Gallows opened the door to find a very concerned Virginia looking at him.

"Gallows, we have a problem." She said solemnly, her eyes not leaving his as she spoke.

Gallows nodded his head slowly and gestured for her to come in, she quickly obliged and shut the door swiftly behind her, extracting both a startled and slight amused expression to his face. That expression quickly faded to just startled as the warmth from her eyes dropped several degrees.

"What's wrong, Virginia, you look like you've seen a ghost." said Gallows, carefully draping an arm around her shoulder and walking her toward one of the chairs in his room. Virginia, with a sigh, sat down in the chair and looked up at Gallows, her eyes retaining the warmth that he was used to.

"Gallows, Jet's no where to be found… I'm worried." She said quietly, directing her gaze toward the ground.

It was then guilt struck Gallows with its full weight and his shoulders sagged.

"I'm sorry, Virginia, I really had no right to do that… In fact, I'm going to apolo…”

"Don't apologize, Gallows, you have no reason to." interrupted Virginia, holding up a small hand to silence him. Gallows blinked and closed his mouth, too startled to do anything else.

"I'm more concerned about his mental state opposed to his physical one. He looked really angry tonight…” She darted her eyes back toward Gallows quickly, causing him to blink stupidly. "So angry, in fact, that he gave me the cold chills." She added, shivering a little. Gallows shook his head a couple of times and knelt down in front of Virginia so that they were seeing eye to eye.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" asked Gallows, his voice becoming a little unsteady from the uneasiness and the little peaks of rage that pushed through reason. Virginia quickly shook her head back and forth to this.

"Of course he didn't! Jet would never swoop so low as to hurt a female…”

At least I think he wouldn't…

Gallows shot a quick side glance to the window and then back to Virginia.

"Have you told Clive about this?" inquired Gallows, starting to stand up slowly. Virginia, however, stopped his ascension by grabbing his hand and pulling him back down to face level.

"Yes, I've told Clive about this… but… he seems to think that Jet's anger will wear off over night…”

"But, you don't think that's the case, do you?" asked Gallows, his eyes probing hers for any sign of fear.

Virginia slowly shook her head "no".

"I think Jet will seek what most people seek… And, that scares me a bit."

"Yes, and he's smart enough to pull just that. Gallows, I hate to say this, but I believe that you've just become Jet's worst enemy. Gallows nodded his head once and noticed that Virginia still had a hold of his hand; Gallows smiled to this a bit and chuckled.

"Is that comfortable or something?" Inquired Gallows, glancing at her hand and then back at her face. Virginia blushed for a brief moment and then pulled her hand back into her lap.

His hands are so warm…

"N-no… and you're getting off subject!" She huffed, the spot of red slowly creeping across her cheeks. Gallows, realizing that he was making her nervous, lay off the flirting and regained his serious composure.

"Virginia, I really think that Jet poses no real threat. At least not to you…” Gallows craned his head to the side and looked toward the door nervously. "I, on the other hand, might need to sleep with one eye opened tonight." sighed Gallows with a small smile creeping across his face.

"Do you want me to sleep in here with you?" asked Virginia absent-mindedly as she looked at Gallows’ profile. When Gallows quickly jerked his head back toward her, Virginia covered her mouth in shock. Luckily, Gallows wasn't in his normal, perverted, mood and merely wrote it off as an offer for companionship.

"No thank you, Virginia, I'll be fine by myself. Try not to worry too much about Jet… or myself…” Gallows said, adding the last part of his sentence with a moment of hesitation. Virginia gave him a warm smile and took one of his hands into both of hers.

"Thank you, so much, for listening Gallows…” She said, standing up and helping him rise to his feet with a well timed pull.

"No need to thank me, it's my pleasure to hold conversation with such a charming lady." smiled Gallows, as she let go of his hand. Gallows extracted a small chuckle from her when he bowed a little.

"Gallows, you really are a ham." snickered Virginia.

"Yeah, I know that I am." chuckled Gallows, taking her hand and walking her slowly to the door, making sure to convey that everything was fine with several, small, hand squeezes as he opened the door.

"You need sleep, dear lady, maybe not for beauty, but certainly for a cheerful smile." quipped Gallows, giving her one of his “I hope that I’m being cute” smiles. Virginia laughed to this and stood up on tip toe. Gallows tilted down a little so she wouldn't have to reach so high.

"Thank you for being such a good friend." She said, brushing her lips lightly against his cheek and then stepping out into the hallway, making sure to shut the door behind her quietly. Gallows stood in front of the door, a deep crimson streak crossing over his cheek bones.

She just… kissed me…

Gallows walked over to the bed in a daze and sat down, holding his flushed cheek.

"Heh." Said Gallows, looking over at the clock on the wall. Twelve thirty five declared the clock face with big golden letters.

I need to get some sleep… Although, if truth be told, I'm a bit afraid to. Damn, I shouldn't have punched him… that was stupid… stupid… STUPID!

(~~~~)

Put a smile on your face! You don't want to scare the bartender; he may not sell us the liquor if you do THAT! Huffed Reason as Jet glared at the sign swaying over the door creakily.

Do you think that it would make me look less suspicious?! These people in here know me, they know I don't smile! Snapped Jet as he reached for the door knob. Reason sighed to this, Jet, sadly enough, had a point.

Very well, but you could at least clean your face up with your coat or something…

What are you, my mother? Barked Jet inwardly as he wiped the remaining blood off his chin with a quick swipe. The grizzled clerk looked at Jet warily and raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Whaddya want?" He growled, chomping on a cigar between raspy sighs. Jet repressed the urge to roll his eyes and sauntered up to the register as calmly as you please.

What do we want?

Gault Fire.

Fine.

"I would like some Gault Fire" Mumbled Jet, reaching for his money pouch. The cashier raised his other eyebrow so that both of his eyebrows were two furry mountains hovering below a cloud of white wisp. Jet had to refrain from laughing at the dull old man.

"Is there a problem with that?" growled Jet, glaring at the old man. The old man lowered his eyebrows and closed his eyes, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"Not at all. It is just that Gault Fire is 190 proof… "

"Which means, what, exactly?" Jet asked impatiently, reaching into his pouch to extract some Gella for the geezer. The old man opened his eyes and gave Jet a squinty glare

"It means, young man. That this, right here." Said he, taking down a dusty bottle of liquor from the shelf and dusting it off in almost a lovingly fashion. "Is ninety five percent alcohol, which, if memory serves me correctly, would overpower a small frame such as yours within just thirty minutes tops" He concluded, setting the bottle in front of Jet in a hesitant manner. Jet glared at him and slowly wrapped his hands around the bottle.

"What does it matter to you? You're making money off of this, aren't you?!" snarled Jet, setting down about 300 Gella. The old man blinked a couple of times and took one hundred of it and slid the other two hundred toward Jet slowly.

"Yes, I am making money off of this, but, at the same time, I want to make sure that my clients drink responsibly and don't give themselves alcohol poisoning…” Quipped the old man wisely, taking the bottle from Jet's lax hand and putting it into a brown bag. Jet closed his eyes for a moment or two, sweeping the money into his pouch before opening them again.

"Whatever, look, I'm kind of in a hurry to get home…” Grumbled Jet, taking the paper sack from the counter, where the old man had deftly put moments before. The old man nodded his acknowledgment and gave him a wry smile.

"Aren't we all…?” He said, watching as Jet stormed out. "Aren't we all…?”